week 1
Tu. 8/20 Introduction to the Course
Wed. 8/21 Legal Education
Read: Burnham pp. 134 - 147 (Legal Education and Admission to the Bar)
Th. 8/22 Library Tour
Read: Lewis. pp. 11 - 19; 26 (cases) Lewis, p. 147 (dictionaries) Handout: "Briefing a Case"
week 2
Tu. 8/27 History and Governmental Structure
Read: Burnham, pp. 1- 36 (History)
Wed. 8/28 Legal Methodology
Read: Burnham, pp. 37 - 48 (Sources of Law and Their Hierarchy ; The Common Law)
Lewis, pp. 20 - 47 (cases, case finders, Shepard’s Citations)
Turn in: Case Brief
Th. 8/29 Legal Methodology - Reading Statutes
Hands-on library exercises today
Read: Burnham, pp. 48-64 (Statutory Law in a Common Law System)
week 3
Tues. 9/3 Legal Methodology - Case Law
Read: Burnham, pp. 64 -75 (The Legal Reasoning Process in Caselaw)
Pick up: handouts on reading, analyzing and comparing cases
Turn in: Statutory Interpretation Exercise
Wed. 9/4 Legal Methodology - Case Law (continued)
Be prepared to discuss exercises distributed yesterday
Th. 9/5 The Legal Profession
Guest speaker: Professor Walter Bennett
Read: Burnham, pp. 132 - 170; and pp. 186 - 196 (Judges and Methods of Selection)
Link to Professor Bennett's Oral history Project.
week 4
Tu. 9/10 Field trip to North Carolina Courts in Raleigh with Justice Harry Martin. Meet in Law School lobby at 3 p.m.
Read: Burnham, pp. 174 - 186 (Trial Courts and Appellate Courts; State and Federal Court Structure)
Turn in: Case Comparison
Photos of North Carolina Supreme Court Judges via the Internet.
Wed. 9/11 The Judicial System Guest speaker: Professor Tom French
Read: Burnham, pp. 196 - 205 ( Subject-matter Jurisdiction and Federalism Complications)
Pick up: handout on the Relationships of Courts
Th. 9/12 Legal Methodology
Be prepared to discuss handout distributed yesterday
Video: "Loyalty on Trial"
week 5
Tu. 9/17 Statutory Research
Read: Lewis, pp. 51 - 98 (Codes)
Turn in: Field trip observation
9/18 Statutory Research (continued)
Hands-on library exercises today
Th. 9/19 The Legal Memorandum
Read: "Guide to Your First Memo" "The Essentials of Legal Citation"
week 6
Tu. 9/24 Civil Procedure
Guest speaker: Professor Elizabeth Gibson
Read: Burnham, pp. 235 - 274 Lewis, pp. 115 - 117 (court rules)
Wed. 9/25 The Adversary System
Read: Burnham, pp. 82 - 119 (The Adversary System and Jury Trials)
Film: "A Criminal Case from Indictment to the Supreme Court"
Th. 9/26 The Criminal Law System in North Carolina
Guest speaker: Orange County District Attorney Carl Fox
Read: Burnham, pp. 275 - 284 (Criminal Justice Process)
Turn in: Closed Memo
week 7
Attend CALR lecture this week. (Computer Assisted Legal Research) - attendance
required. You may attend either of the two sessions offered this week.
Tu. 10/1 Research in Secondary Sources
Read: Lewis, pp. 123 - 147 (Commentaries)
Pick up: Research Exercise in Secondary Resources due 10-9-96
Wed. 10/2 The Adversary System (continued)
Read: Burnham, pp. 119 - 131 (Criticisms of the Adversary System)
Th. 10/3 Alternative Dispute Resolution in North Carolina and the US
Guest speaker: Dickson Phillips, III
week 8
Tu. 10/8 Lexis Training in the Electronic Learning Research Center
Read: Lewis, pp. 151 - 169 (Automated Legal Research)
Wed. 10/9 Visit today to the NC Superior Court in Hillsborough Meet in Law School lobby at 3 PM; return to Chapel Hill by 5:30.
Turn in: Research Exercise: Secondary Resources
Th. 10/10 Administrative Law
Read: Burnham, pp. 206 - 234 (Administrative Law) Lewis, pp. 99 - 113 (Administrative Codes)
Hands-on library exercises today
week 9
Tu. 10/15 Criminal Law
Guest speaker: Professor Michael Corrado
Read: Burnham, pp. 488 - 508 (Criminal Law)
Wed. 10/16 Lexis training - International Law Research
Class meets in the Electronic Resources Learning Center
Guest Trainer: Sonja Beckham from Lexis.
Th. 10/17 Fall Break - no class
week 10
Tu. 10/22 Constitutional Law
Guest speaker: Professor Jack Boger
Read: Burnham, pp. 315 - 377 (Constitutional Law)
Wed. 10/23 Research Strategy and Writing an Office Memorandum
Pick up: Closed memo assignment
Th. 10/24 Property Law
Guest speaker: Professor Joe Kalo
Read: Burnham, pp. 432 - 456 Property law handouts from Professor Kalo
Pick up: Handouts about the Supreme Court and Atherton v. Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.
week 11
Tu. 10/29 Read: Atherton v. FDIC in preparation for visit to Court
Wed. 10/30 Contract Law
Guest speaker: Professor Caroline Brown
Read: Burnham, pp. 379 - 400 (Contract Law) Lewis, pp. 143 - 144 (Form Books)
Th. 10/31 The Death Penalty in the US
Guest speaker: Professor Rich Rosen
Read: Burnham, pp. 285 - 314 (Constitutional Criminal Procedure)
Visit to Washington, DC and U. S. Supreme Court - Saturday, 11/2 - Monday, 11/4
week 12
Tu. 11/5 Tort Law
Guest speaker: Professor Marilyn Yarborough
Read: Burnham, pp. 401 - 431 (Tort Law)
Pick up: Handouts on lawyers and disciplinary actions and on legal research via the Internet
Wed. 11/6 No class - work on memorandum
Th. 11/7 No class - attend North Carolina State Bar Disciplinary Hearing
Attend disciplinary hearing in the Moot Court Room. Attendance is required for at least one hour.
week 13
Tu. 11/12 Legal Resources on the Internet
Read: Legal Research and the Internet articles
Wed. 11/13 Business Law
Guest speaker: Professor Barry Roberts
Read: Burnham, pp. 510 - 556 Handout on "Bluffing" from Professor Roberts
Turn in: Legal Memorandum
Th. 11/14 Final class for Semester
Return to the Introduction to American Law Home Page To the UNC-CH Law Library Home Page To the UNC-CH School of Law Home Page